Huw Edwards has been named as the BBC presenter at the centre of the explicit picture scandal in a statement by his wife.
Statement from Huw Edwards’ wife
The statement, shared with the Press Association, states: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.
“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.
“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
BBC statement on Huw Edwards
A BBC spokesperson added: “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.
“The police had previously asked us to pause our fact-finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”
Allegations against the presenter first emerged on July 7, with The Sun claiming a 17 year old, who is now 20, was paid £35,000 for explicit images over a period of three years.
Two days later, the star was suspended. The BBC shared in a statement: “The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday (July 6) of a different nature.
Read more: BBC presenter at the centre of explicit picture scandal named as Huw Edwards
“In addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols. We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.”
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